metempsychosis
by cancerous cactus
Summary: Metempsychosis: the supposed transmigration of the soul of a human being or animal into a new body of the same or different species. The balance of the world is not so easily forsaken. SI-OC


**AN:** hey waddup im CC im 16 and i never fuckin learned how to update

* * *

Her teachers taught her that air is the element of freedom.

Her black wind blown chin length hair and straight edge bangs cover her mastery tattoos when she goes into Earth Kingdom markets to trade on behalf of her people—that is not freedom. She has never felt true freedom.

The truth of the matter is that there is no freedom in genocide and systematic oppression. Go figures.

Keiko is part of the fifteen percent of the population that was not completely decimated a hundred years ago. She is also part of the five percent that are airbenders.

Her life goes as such, she lives with the largest tribe of Air Nomads—their existence disguised by claiming to be gypsies to anyone too curious, but people these days are not curious. They cannot afford to be. They grow out their hair and they fight when need be, lethal violence is an unfortunate necessity of the times. Their symbols are hidden under Earth Kingdom clothes, their airbending confined to the eyes of tribe only.

She pretends that she never existed as Charlie, an angry girl who played in street corners for extra cash and made dinner for her parents on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She had a cat named Toph after her favorite character from Avatar the Last Airbender.

Keiko sings to the children of the tribe with songs of love and heartbreak—Charlie's songs. Keiko goes into free Earth Kingdom towns to trade with the people there. Most of the traders in the market know her by name. They know the truth of her people, but they are kind to people who have already lost so much. Keiko is known as Kei to her friends.

Her life does not continue as such. She's sixteen when the world stills for a moment—the creatures quiet and even the most rambunctious child stills, a voice, whispering across the winds carried to each and every person throughout the nations—whether they choose to listen or not is up to them.

" _The Avatar is alive."_

Keiko cannot hide anymore.

* * *

The news of the Avatars continued (debatable) existence sends her tribe spiraling into turmoil—an airbender, one of them, who believes he is the last, there are cries for seeking him, to tell him he is not alone.

There are also cries of anger, _he abandoned us in our time of need_ they shout, _why should we help him in his?_

She wants to hold it against him, the death of so many of her kin, but Kei is realistic, not even the Avatar could have prevented the destruction of all four Air Temples. He was only a boy. Younger than she is. She knows that there is no more guilt that they can thrust upon him than he already does himself.

It's a few months after when a decision is finally met.

The guitar she bought so long ago hums through the tent and the children around her hum along with her to their favorite tunes. She grins a thoughtless smile around the lyrics of a song she heard so long ago and just barely manages to keep alive through a made up series of chords.

" _I was late for this_

 _late for that,_

 _late for the love of my life,_

 _and when I die,_

 _when I die alone,_

 _I'll be on time."_

She finishes with a dying off noise, her head lolling back, faking a dramatic death as her guitar hums out the remainder of the chord.

"Kei, you won't die alone!" Xiaochen giggles, "we'll all be with you!"

"Foolish of you to assume I can die, Xiaochen," she cackles, whipping her guitar off and setting it down, "I am Keiko! Master of Life and Death! And I've come to tickle all those who challenge me!" She scoops him up with another exaggerated laugh and wiggles her fingers up the boy's sides. The other children charge up behind her letting out shrieking laughs, some grab her legs, some scaling her back in an attempt to free Xiaochen.

"Excuse me? Master of Life and Death?" Kei stills, children hanging off of her and little Xiaochen wheezing, trying to catch his breath in her arms. She cringes, recognizing Rin's teasing voice without having to look. She feels a blush rising involuntarily as she turns and sees her crush of about three years now smiling a soft smile, her normally long brown hair shaved to proudly display her newly acquired mastery tattoos.

Kei feels her face get even redder.

"The Council needs you, Master Keiko—" she eyes her company suspiciously and continues only when Kei nods, "it's about the Avatar."

Kei stills. "I see." She gives a bright smile to the boy in her arms and the children around her. "Well kiddos it seems it's time for your punishment to end—" she airbends her glider into her hand with a a quick motion, "Rin will watch you guys until I get back, okay?"

There's a series of complaints and grumbles and finally a resounding "'Kay…"

Kei gently grabs Rin's shoulder to guide her outside, "hey I don't know if I ever told you congratulations for completing your training!" She grins, "you don't have to call me master anymore too, not that you ever _had_ to, but now you really don't have to!"

"I know but, you've always been so far ahead of me—" Rin blushes, "the way you bend—not even the Monks from the temples ever looked like you."

"That's because they were ancient by the time we came around Rin, and besides, we're the same now—"

"Don't." Rin says, her face hard.

"What?" Kei asks somewhat desperately, her smile fading.

"Don't patronize me. We're not the same level," her hard face turns into a playful grin, "but if you don't watch out, we will be someday and I'll kick your ass all the way to the North Pole."

There's a shriek inside the tent of _Rin said a naughty word!_ Rin blushes a gorgeous red and Kei laughs involuntarily, partly out of relief of not having angered her crush, waving a hand behind her as she turns away from the tent full of screaming children and heads for the Council's tent.

The Council's tent, while large to accommodate the number of people, looks exactly like everyone else's tent, a tan color in a hexagonal shape, held up by sticks twine. Her tribe stays sedentary for the most part, moving only when their people in the Earth Kingdom villages around them alert them to Fire Nation movement in the area.

The last time they had to move was about ten years ago when the Fire Nation the town near them. They lost many people that night.

The flap to the tent opens easily and Kei slips inside, the Monks are arguing, only three of them are airbenders while the other six are nonbenders, all of them old as dirt, two of them having actually been in the temples the night the Fire Nation attacked a century ago.

She places a fist against her palm and bows low, clearing her throat a bit to gain their attention. "Council," she begins, "you've called for me?"

"Yes, Master Keiko," Councilwoman Mei begins, her long silvery hair swishing as she turns her blank stare to Kei, "it concerns the Avatar. The Council has decided that you be sent after him, to guide him in his journey, and to show him he is not alone."

"We have decided _no such thing_ Councilwoman Mei! Master Kei is in no way shape or form capable of striking out on such a dangerous endeavor! She is but a child, woman!" Councilman Chang seethes, spit flying from his wrinkly lips, his flabby gullet oscillating with his dramatic head movements.

"Pardon me, Councilman Chang, but you would have to be blind _and_ a fool to not see that she is the most capable airbender of her time," Mei narrows her unseeing eyes in his general direction, "might I remind you it was _you_ who insisted that she would guard and care for the children? Insisting that anywhere that Kei was would be the safest area in the camp? Or have you lost your memory to prowess to old age?"

"Thank you, Councilwoman Mei," Kei says, her voice light in attempt to cut the building tension, "but I wouldn't be anywhere if it weren't for your teachings."

There is silence for a moment, Mei sends her a soft smile and a nod, before the room explodes into action again, voices steadily getting louder and louder until Kei can't even hear herself think.

Each member of the council represents a faction of the tribe, Trading/Relations, Agriculture, Child Care, Textiles/Jewelry, Airbenders, and those incapable of bending. Each of member of the Council is equally important, so each member thinks it's their right to shove their opinion down everyone's throats. Her own airbending teacher, Councilwoman Mei, is probably the worst about it. In Council meetings, not much really gets done, and so most of the time the issue is taken to the people and the members of the tribe get to hear each manner of proceeding before voting on it lage scale to finally get what they will do.

Kei suspects that their fear has made them stagnant in a way that the Councils of the Air Temples never were, and wonders if this is why she had never seen her tribe mentioned in canon, as they weren't exactly the way that Air Nomads traditionally were.

A powerful gust of air that sends Kei's hair whipping around her face silences the group and they all turn to the offender—one of the survivors of The Raid, spared by a merciful Fire Nation soldier who found her in a closet that night, and shut the door tight.

(There are a lot of stories like that—most were gone that night, as staying in the Temples were only for children, teachers, and priests—but there are a lot of Fire Nation soldiers who couldn't stomach the killings, and many owe their lives to a gentle soldier.)

"Children! All of you!" Councilwoman Ming says, her head bald and proud (and also quite a bit wrinkly), " _this_ is why I wished to retire."

"And _this_ ," Chang quips, lips quirking, "is why we wouldn't let you."

Ming rolls her eyes before directing her piercing stare to Kei, who would honestly like it to be anywhere but looking at her. "Master Keiko leaves tomorrow morning at dawn, the Avatar needs to know that he has a place to return to." She turns her stare to all of them, "a _home_. Shame on you for forgetting he is one of our own, and should be treated as such regardless of whether or not he could have prevented The Raid or if he will only bring trouble. And to anyone testing Master Keiko's ability, she has far outpaced many of us, including myself, if anyone doubts her ability, they doubt mine."

"And mine," Mei adds, her face solemn.

"Thank you, Councilwoman." Kei bows low, straightening to meet the Council's resolved faces.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Ming's eyes twinkle with a bit of mischief, "get packed. There's a long journey ahead of you."

* * *

"Hey Rin, I just wanted to say—" Kei starts, trailing after the fast paced girl with a nervous grin.

"Say what, Master Keiko?" Rin interrupts, whirling around, her black eyes narrowed, "you're leaving and now I have to care for all these brats! What did you think that I would smile and wave you off to go take care of Avatar business while I sit at home with the children like a good little housewife?" She spits, "I'm not that kinda girl."

"Oh." Is all Kei can say in reply, her mind scrambling to for something to say. "I, uh, can ask for a transfer of jobs if you want. I know a few people in trading who might be looking for an airbender. If you want."

"I'm kidding, Master Keiko, you don't have to look like I just sucker punched you for no reason."

"Oh." She stutters out, "oh. Yeah. Okay." She gives a nervous laugh, "for sure."

"I would like that transfer if you don't mind, though."

"Okay." And with that, Kei tries to take her leave, trying to sort out the confusing mix of feelings in her head.

"Hey, what were you going to say?" She hears called from behind her and Kei turns to see Rin squinting at her through the setting sun.

"Oh. Um. Nothing. Good night!"

Kei does not recommend a transfer. She leaves with a weird, bitter taste in her mouth.

* * *

 **an omake of sorts:**

The Southern Air Temple is unlike any place that Kei has ever been. The wind howls through the empty hallways, blowing torn and weathered tapestries that scrape across the ruined stone. If you lean close enough to the skeletons of those passed, you can hear their whispers—pleas for help. For rest.

They've been here for far too long.


End file.
